1 Cor 2:11-16
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The New Testament > 1 Corinthians > Chapter 2
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Questions
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Lexical notes
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Verse 14
- Natural is translated from the Greek ψυχικός (psychikos) which comes from the Greek word ψυχή (psychē) meaning "the vital force which animates the body and shows itself in breathing" (Thayer's Lexicon) or, more simply, "breath." Note that psychikos is translated as "sensual" in James 3:15 and Jude 1:19. "Natural" here, then, isn't the opposite of "artificial," but rather as a reference to one's human or bodily nature.
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Exegesis
Paul uses the "natural man" (verse 14) as a foil to "he that is spiritual" (verse 15). By "natural man" Paul is talking about someone who knows things according to the spirit of man (verse 11) or, what seems to be the same thing, the spirit of the world (verse 12), but not according to the Spirit of God (verse 11). Paul's point seems to be that the things of God must be spiritually discerned (verse 14). In verse 16 Paul tells us we cannot instruct the Lord. We might interpret the earlier verses as an argument for the same thing. It makes sense that we cannot instruct God if the only way to judge spiritual things is by the Spirit of God.
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Related links
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